The War On Syria Now Coming To Lebanon

August 23, 2013

Yesterday some Jihaid group fired four rockets into north Israel. No one was hurt:

Al-Qaeda-linked militants asserted responsibility for firing four rockets from southern Lebanon into Israel on Thursday afternoon. Israeli missile defenses intercepted one of the missiles and the remaining three caused little damage, according to Israeli military officials.

No one was reported hurt in the attack, which the Israel Defense Forces blamed on “global jihad operatives” and not on longtime antagonist Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based Shiite political and militant organization.

Later Thursday, the Lebanese branch of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an Islamist group with links to al-Qaeda, said it had carried out the attack. The group, known as the Ziad al-Jarrah Battalion, is named after a Lebanese Sept. 11, 2001, hijacker.

In "retaliation" for a strike by a Jihdi group Israel attacked some installation of the secular and leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command:

An Associated Press photographer in Naameh said the raid targeted a PFLP-GC base in a valley in the town. Lebanese troops in the area prevented journalists from reaching the base.

Why, if not to sow further chaos, would Israel target a leftist Palestinian group in "retaliation" for a hit by some super rightwing Jihadist group?

Just minutes ago two large explosions targeted two Sunni mosques in Tripoli, Lebanon when worshippers just started leaving. There is no word yet of the preachers, Sheikhs Bilal Baroudi and Salem Rafeii, having been hurt or killed but dozens were killed and wounded. In April Sheik Rafeii had escaped an assassination plot. Both Sheiks are Salafists and have called on Sunnis to fight against the Syrian government.

A week ago a car bomb hit a civilian area in south Beirut where lots of Hizbullah voters live. Whoever launched that bomb and hit the two mosques today, and it is unlikely to have been Hizbullah, clearly wants to escalate sectarian strife. Lebanon had so far been spared from much of of the fighting in Syria. But these attacks are an escalation and the up to now agreed upon truce in Lebanon will now unravel.

Posted by b on August 23, 2013 at 11:26 UTC | Permalink

Comments

I’ve already seen two quite cynical analyses of this in the Israeli online press: one from Haaretz (remember you can only view 10 of these per month, even if you’re registered), and the other on Ynet. By the way, I just posted a detailed textual criticism of the article cited by B on the discussion about Morsi vs Sisi which had some many links in it, it went straight into the spam bin. How I hate it when that happens. But it can’t be helped. I think it had eight links in it altogether, four in the original article and then the same four repeated as I analysed them one by one.

Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Aug 23 2013 12:03 utc | 1

Reminds me of the bulgaria bombing from last year:

As the Israeli government seizes on last week’s suicide bombing of a bus carrying Israeli tourists in Bulgaria as an opportunity to discredit Iran and Hezbollah, the on-going investigation in Bulgaria is increasingly pointing the finger at a different culprit – al-Qaeda.

Posted by: never mind | Aug 23 2013 12:11 utc | 2

@RB – your comment with links did not go into the spam bin. It is here: http://www.moonofalabama.org/2013/08/where-egypt-might-go.html#c6a00d8341c640e53ef0192acb5ae4e970d

Posted by: b | Aug 23 2013 12:12 utc | 3

b, could you change my link in #2 to the actual source?

Posted by: never mind | Aug 23 2013 12:14 utc | 4

@b, #3: yes, I saw it right after I posted the one here on this thread. It just vanished for 30 secs then reappeared, but because of all the links, I jumped to a conclusion. Sorry.

Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Aug 23 2013 12:53 utc | 5

In the Haaretz opinion piece I cited above (in comment 1), the author hypothesizes that Hamas, of all people, are involved in the Lebanon bombings. In support of this, he cites an article in the arabic edition of al-Akhbar (I can’t find it in the english edition), which describes in detail the suspicions of Lebanese investigators. This is what he says:

The Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, which is close to Hezbollah, reports that Lebanese intelligence is after one Ahmed Mahmoud Taha, a Palestinian from south Beirut who belongs to the Hamas movement in Lebanon. Taha is suspected of firing the rockets on Beirut’s southern suburb. Another suspect, Ala Al-Din Mahmoud Yasin, a senior Hamas operative in the Rashidiyeh refugee camp, is also wanted for questioning on suspicion of planning and carrying out attacks in Lebanon, together with Taha. A Hamas delegation was supposed to meet the head of Lebanese intelligence in the south on Wednesday to tell him the movement is not involved in these attacks. But the intelligence chief put off the meeting until Hamas turns the suspects over to him. Al-Akhbar further reports that Taha bought the rockets from a weapons dealer, who reported this to Hezbollah when it found the rockets had been fired on a Beirut suburb and not on Israel, as he had been told by the buyers. Hamas has close ties with Hezbollah in Lebanon, despite the severance from Syria and Iran, and Hezbollah militants control some of the entrances to the Palestinian refugee camps. But even some Hamas officials see Hezbollah’s involvement in Lebanon (he probably means Syria – RB) as a deviation from the joint struggle against Israel. Also, if Hamas did carry out the attack on Hezbollah’s camps in Lebanon or fired the rockets on Israel, it could possibly have been doing it for other organizations. One of them could be the radical Sunni Fatah al-Islam, which has been fighting for years against the Lebanese government and Hezbollah.

So we have, if this is correct, not just Syria coming to Lebanon, but also Gaza coming to Lebanon, To further confuse things, Tamarrud in Egypt has now sprouted a Tamarrud in Gaza, which wants to depose Hamas from power: Link (not Haaretz, so no worry about 10 views per month).

Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Aug 23 2013 13:04 utc | 6

The war has been in Lebanon for some time, but centered on Tripoli. Now it seems that Syrian gains have pushed it south into Beirut and elsewhere.

Posted by: JohnH | Aug 23 2013 14:08 utc | 7

Saudi Arabia has a long and illustrious history of using car bombs in Lebanon since they regard it as their personal satrapy given how much they pay Lebanese politicians of most hues.

Posted by: blowback | Aug 23 2013 14:13 utc | 8

The Haaretz writer tries to draw some further distinction between Sunni paramilitaries like Hamas (and Fatah al-Islam) which he says are not committed to “global Jihad”, and Nusra & Co which are so committed. But he doesn’t argue this in detail. Among Sunni paramilitary organisations, the only distinction I would draw would be on the basis of funding. If Qatar is still funding some of these groups, then they may not be under the same sort of strategic direction as the ones now controlled by Bandar. They may be operating as rogue organisations, pursuing indiscriminate sectarian goals, for instance, whereas Bandar may be trying to impose some more discriminating strategy on the groups that he controls. It isn’t so much a matter of “moderates” vs “extremists” as a matter of what instruction their sources of funding give them, if any. Qatar may be just dishing out money without giving any instructions at all, because it wants to spite Bandar and the Sauds. There’s no way of knowing, but it’s a hypothesis.

Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Aug 23 2013 15:21 utc | 9

Mabe I’m too optimist but this might quite well be a trap to lure israel more deeply and officially into that whole thing.
There are also reports tha zusa, israel and *grin* jordanian commandos are leading “rebel” (read: terrorist) groups into and inside Syria.
Which, in my minds eyes is great news because neither Assad nor Putin (nor, probably Iran) will tolerate that. I will laugh out loudly when those vermin commandos are surprised meeting real commandos like Spetznaz.
But again: Terminate israel and you’ll have solved the core of pretty als major problems (that, of course, also includes finding some solid lamp posts for aipac and other israeli crime cartells).

Posted by: Mr. Pragma | Aug 23 2013 16:02 utc | 10

talk of the devil:

Twin explosions hit two mosques in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Friday, killing at least 42 people and wounding hundreds. The apparently coordinated blasts struck as locals were finishing Friday prayers in the largely Sunni Muslim city. The first explosion hit the Taqwa mosque, frequented by hardline Sunni Islamists, and killed at least 14 people there, according to accounts earlier in the day. Further deaths were reported from a second blast outside the al-Salam mosque, which the Interior Ministry said was hit by a car laden with 100 kg of explosives. (Reuters)

Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Aug 23 2013 16:53 utc | 11

Mr.Pragma
You really think Iran, Russia would intervene in Syria with troops?

Posted by: Anonymous | Aug 23 2013 18:00 utc | 12

Seeing this , i think the only way to stop all this, is to bring the war inside Israel. Take it to a point where every israeli is living in a shelter for a while, untill it becomes unbearable for them. Then and only then , they could negociate the whole situation in Syria and Lebanon.

Posted by: Nabil | Aug 23 2013 18:09 utc | 13

rockets to israel : little damage
Bombs in lebanon :L much damage
= israel as provacateur
divide and conquer: Lebanon
http://pennyforyourthoughts2.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/breaking-news-two-explosions-hit.html
first syria now lebanon = israel

Posted by: brian | Aug 23 2013 18:18 utc | 14

Anonymous (12)
If needed, yes.
Sure, Russia will be wise enough to not, without urgent need, bluntly go in with troups. But they can and I guess will do what zato/israel do that is, send “advisors” and “trainers”. Of course Russias move will be smarter, swfiter and more effective and deadly than zatos/israels. After all Russia, on the level of politicians, strategists and soldiers is way more capable than the zato cowards. Just compare obama and Putin; Putin *is* a smart, straight, tough guy, obama is just an actor who is more concerned about serving his masters and the gay movement than about his people. As for the soldiers you do not even need to look at Russia. Even, for instance, the German soldiers are way braver and more professional than zusa cowards. As for Russia, zusa wouldn’t been done even just installing their luxury bases with gay facilities while Russia already would have won the war.
zusa isn’t the problem militarily. Frankly, I consider them quite insignificant. israel might be a somewhat tougher case but nothing that Russia couldn’t comfortably handle within a week.

Posted by: Mr. Pragma | Aug 23 2013 18:37 utc | 15

Behold! Ban ki moon is going to conduct a research himself on Syria. Comedy.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/un-official-due-in-syria-to-push-for-chemical-experts-access.aspx?pageID=238&nid=53136
Mr Pragma
Iran and Russia already have advisors in Syria but thinking they will somehow use airpower or w.e in Syria is not going to happen. Russia nor Iran isnt wont go into that trap. Although I wish they could, for one Russia could have sold the S300 to Syria but they backed off because of Israel.

Posted by: Anonymous | Aug 23 2013 18:44 utc | 16

Al-Akhbar is reflecting the Hezbollah line on the latest bombings, which is somewhat contradictory: in this polemical piece, presumably before the Tripoli bombings, Hezb accuses Saudi (by unmistakable implication though not by name) of trying to start a sectarian war, but in this one, from after the Tripoli bombings, Hezb goes back to the usual line of accusing Israel. Personally, I think that there are genuine Shi’ite paramilitaries in Lebanon which are sick of Hezb’s line of restraint, and I think that they conducted the Tripoli bombings as a reprisal for Dahiyeh etc, But I expect most of you will say that that is just what Saudi (or Israel) wants me to think. There was an article in al-Akhbar a few days ago about Shi’ite voices, let me put it that way, saying they were sick of Hezb’s line of restraint.

Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Aug 23 2013 19:57 utc | 17

@Rowan
“There was an article in al-Akhbar a few days ago about Shi’ite voices, let me put it that way, saying they were sick of Hezb’s line of restraint.”
I wouldn’t put on these terms. I would rather say: unlike Haaretz, Al-Akhbar is an objective and principled media source which reflects different point of views from different perspectives in its opinion column.
This is exactly in line with the positions of Iran and the shia political leaders in Lebanon.

Posted by: ATH | Aug 23 2013 20:09 utc | 18

Here’s an interesting wrinkle… Syrian rebels’ Damascus chemical cache found by Syrian Army

The Syrian army has discovered a storehouse belonging to rebels in the Damascus area of Jobar, where toxic chemical substances – including chlorine – have been produced and kept, State TV reported.
Military sources reported that the militants “were preparing to fire mortars in the suburbs of the capital and were going to pack missiles with chemical warheads.”
A video shot by RT’s sister channel Russia Al Youm shows an old, partly ruined building which was set up as a laboratory. After entering the building, Syrian Army officers found scores of canisters and bags laid on the floor and tables. According to a warning sign on the bags, the “corrosive” substance was made in Saudi Arabia

Posted by: CTuttle | Aug 23 2013 22:44 utc | 19

Yes, we need to tie things together — bombs in dahiye, tripoli, baghdad (this afternoon), and damascus — all of it seeming to antagonize sectarian relations. thus we need to ask: who would have an interested in sparking sectarian strife? Answer: Israel, Saudi, the US, and their wahabi allies in Lebanon and Syria.

Posted by: anon | Aug 23 2013 23:07 utc | 20

lebanon has been a base of operations for the jihadis for ages: so no surprise to see the rats turn on their hosts

Posted by: brian | Aug 24 2013 0:09 utc | 21

@17, that is my view as well Rowan. I just came back to the US from a two month trip to Lebanon and I can tell you there is a lot of fear from a re-kindled civil war. The day after I left is when the Dha7yeh bombing happened.
People keep clamoring about how these bombings are the work of Israel or SA, but the obvious is sometimes the fact. The first bombing is more than likely the work of Salafi groups as a message to Hizb to get its troops out of Syria. And these bombings are the reply of some disgruntled rebellious shiite groups. This is the obvious.
Hizb made a big mistake by getting involved in Syria. The Syrian war is now nothing but a trap for Hizb. The longer it goes on, the weaker is Hizb both militarily and politically. In Lebanon, Hizb is weak and isolated. The alliance with 3oun’s Tayyar is very shaky.
As Hizb weakens, Israel will be ready to strike. Israel, never forgot that Hizb was the only organization to defeat it in open war.
Nasrallah committed a big strategic error. Israel is loving this.

Posted by: ndahi | Aug 24 2013 1:06 utc | 22

Rowan @17: “Hezb accuses Saudi … of trying to start a sectarian war, but in this one, from after the Tripoli bombings, Hezb goes back to the usual line of accusing Israel.”
In many people’s minds the Saudis and Israelis coordinate with each other(as in Egypt), with Lebanese Christians, Hariri Saudi/Sunni, Americans and Europeans being part of the mix. So far there is no shorthand for this axis, so one or another gets called out when something happens. That doesn’t mean that Hezb has decided to exclude the other parts of the axis from suspicion.

Posted by: JohnH | Aug 24 2013 1:22 utc | 23

Posted by: ndahi | Aug 23, 2013 9:06:07 PM | 22
who do u suppose is arming and funding the jihadis?

Posted by: brian | Aug 24 2013 1:50 utc | 24

Hizb made a big mistake by getting involved in Syria. The Syrian war is now nothing but a trap for Hizb. The longer it goes on, the weaker is Hizb both militarily and politically. In Lebanon, Hizb is weak and isolated. The alliance with 3oun’s Tayyar is very shaky.
As Hizb weakens, Israel will be ready to strike. Israel, never forgot that Hizb was the only organization to defeat it in open war.
Nasrallah committed a big strategic error. Israel is loving this.
Posted by: ndahi | Aug 23, 2013 9:06:07 PM | 22
whacko! the terrorists attacking syria operate out OF lebanon: those who occupied al-qusayr came FROM Lebanon. Hez was quite right to get involved…most of the terrorists now in syria are NON-syrian…es;p from libya tunisia chechenya afghanistan etc.They are confirming islam as THE religion of terrorism

Posted by: brian | Aug 24 2013 1:53 utc | 25

@ndahi
I was back from Beyrouth recently as wel and the political line out of influential people and parties was that there is no way the incoming governement can exclude the shia parti from ministerial post. It will not happen. I interpret this as a consequence of another bright move by hizb leadership.

Posted by: ATH | Aug 24 2013 3:57 utc | 26

It seems to me that the LAST thing Lebanese Christians would want is a Salfist victory in next door Syria. Those who have been to Lebanon can chime in on that, if they want. As for Hizb, they also can’t passively accept a Saudi vassal state next door. And are they still fighting in Syria? As I understand it, they helped tip the balance in Qusayr and have since moved back home.
Now there are rumors that the US is pretending to believe the chemical weapons hoax and is about to launch a cruise missile attack on Syria. As per Libya, when it seemed Qadhafi had regained control of the situation (meaning NATO’s war on the cheap had failed) they stepped in directly. And now that Assad seems pretty close to finishing off the terrorist invaders, the US seems willing to step in again.
Notice how they couldn’t care less about the visible hypocrisy of ignoring the massacre in Egypt (which, unlike the ‘chemical attack,’ actually happened)
Notice how a million videos of beheadings, mass executions, torture and cannibalism by the ‘rebels’ does not cause them any embarrassment.
And lastly, notice how they couldn’t care less that the chemical attack story simply isn’t plausible under even the most casual scrutiny. Might makes right, as far as they are concerned. Everything else is window dressing.

Posted by: Lysander | Aug 24 2013 4:15 utc | 27

FSA make threats to use chem weapons if the ‘international community’ does not act
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9Bx1ffI5fQ&feature=youtu.be
in background u can see the FSA flag(3 stars) and black flag of jihad http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Jihad.svg

Posted by: brian | Aug 24 2013 5:00 utc | 28

Unlike Haaretz, al-Akhbar is an objective and principled media source which reflects different point of views from different perspectives in its opinion column. This is exactly in line with the positions of Iran and the Shi’a political leaders in Lebanon. Posted by: ATH | Aug 23, 2013 4:09:26 PM | 18

Haaretz is a mere shadow of its former bold & independent self, which I am not ashamed to say I used to enjoy. I’m not Jewish, and I don’t have a dog in this fight, so to speak, but there is an existential core to the young Jewish-Israeli community which I tend to sympathise with. By ‘existential’ I mean something along the lines of: “It isn’t our fault that we were born here in this mad Catch-22-like society, and there’s no sane way for us to cope with it. We can’t go home to homes in Europe or America that we never had, we were brought up as Jewish-Israelis, and it’s horrible.” What they tend to do is adopt some mealy-mouthed rote Left-Liberal creed, which becomes more and more unrealistic and indeed beyond a certain point downright hypocritical. Uri Avnery is a good example of this. Or they say they are “anarchists”, which is a good way of avoiding any realpolitik whatever. But I sympathise with them, as I said. What would I do if I had been born there, and just thrown into their situation? But all this is quite irrelevant to the question of what I can legitimately read into opinion pieces in al-Akhbar. Perhaps the phrase I used, “fed up with Hezb’s line of restraint,” is a bit too casual. But I don’t see why I should be deferential to al-Akhbar, or to the general line of Hezbollah, or that of Iran. They are not saints, and in some respects their attitude of restraint derives from a religious mindset that I find irrational, something like “we Shi’ites have always been martyrs, it’s God’s will.” The endless mass murder of Shi’ites in Iraq drives me mad. I wish the Mahdi Army or whoever would retaliate, and sometimes they do.

Lebanese Christians, Hariri Saudi/Sunni, Americans and Europeans being part of the mix… Posted by: JohnH | Aug 23, 2013 9:22:43 PM | 23

Now that’s a thought. A Lebanese Christian militia, egged on by the CIA, would be capable of bombing both sides, Shi’ite and Sunni-Salafi, just to start a sect war. Those Lebanese Christian Phalangist militias are evil.

Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Aug 24 2013 5:39 utc | 29

@ Brian, It is easy to pontificate from the safety of Europe/US about Lebanon and the intricacies of its make-up, but it is quite different to live daily in the hell that Hizb’s involvement in Syria’s war has brought to Lebanon.
The Lebanese depend on the summer months to eek out a living, but since Hizb’s involvement in Syria’s war the whole of Lebanon has been punished and starved from tourists. The restaurants and hotels are empty. The Gulf tourists that used to flock to Lebanon in the summer no longer show up. Parliament does not function. Elections have been postponed. A govt. cannot be formed and the country has a resigned care taker govt managing it. The only functioning institution left is the Lebanese Army. If the army splits along sectarian lines, then the country plunges back into civil war.
Hizb put its narrow interests ahead of the interests of Lebanon as a whole. All Hizb cared about is preserving its supply lines vis Syria. Hizb feared that the collapse of the Syrian regime will jeopardize its supply lines from Iran. That is all Hizb cared about.
Hizb would have been better served staying out of the Syrian war and striking internal alliances with other Lebanese actors like the one Hizb did with Tayyar.
Now Hizb’s policies are destabilizing Lebanon and diverting Hizb’s resources into a meaningless Syrian quagmire. That is exactly what Israel wants.

Posted by: ndahi | Aug 24 2013 6:10 utc | 30

@ Lysander, Hizb is still fighting in Syria. They have now moved to fighting in Aleppo and Hims. There are constant funerals from Shiite areas in Lebanon for fighters that have died in Syria. In his last speech Nasrallah doubled down on his losing policy and said that he will send all Hizb’s troops to Syria if need be. As I said, Israel is loving this.

Posted by: ndahi | Aug 24 2013 6:18 utc | 31

Hola amigos!!!
I’ve been away, but I am back!!!
Anonympus did you miss me!??
Now, my comentario! Ay Dios mio.
#30
Hizbollah made a decision to fight. It had to jump into Syria, If Assad falls then the outcome would have been much worse for Lebanon.
At least there is the possibility that governments parties can attempt to negotiate.
However if an emirate would have risen in Syria. Hizbollah would have been its first victim.
The Christians the 3rd and the rest of Lebanon would have been gobbled up.
You know this is true, so don’t act all upset because Nasrallah and his boys are still kicking butt.

Posted by: Fernando | Aug 24 2013 6:36 utc | 32

On line admission of a Saudi terrorists to producing chemical weapons
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151536245066179&set=a.10150565130246179.376197.186321186178&type=1&theater
British MP: Israel provides terrorists in Syria with chemical weapons
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/23/320111/chemical/

Posted by: brian | Aug 24 2013 6:45 utc | 33

@ Brian, It is easy to pontificate from the safety of Europe/US about Lebanon and the intricacies of its make-up, but it is quite different to live daily in the hell that Hizb’s involvement in Syria’s war has brought to Lebanon.
…
Now Hizb’s policies are destabilizing Lebanon and diverting Hizb’s resources into a meaningless Syrian quagmire. That is exactly what Israel wants.
Posted by: ndahi | Aug 24, 2013 2:10:17 AM | 30
congrats ndahi: your position is identical to israels…and its utter bunk. The war in syria is being fought by fighters stationed in lebanon as well as jordan and turkey…or do you think Lebanon is free of salafi jihadis? Your goal is to get rid of Hezbollah; and kin so doiong hand lebanon over to Israel…’
‘Hizb put its narrow interests ahead of the interests of Lebanon as a whole. ‘
this remark is not even very intelligent…but it works well as zionist propaganda
‘
why does Moonofalabama attract this sort of commentator?
its often hard to tell if a commentator is a troll with an agenda(yours is to defame hezbollah) or merely not very bright.

Posted by: brian | Aug 24 2013 6:50 utc | 34

so whayts Ndahis agenda? lets go back to a 2011 post
========================================
Please b, do not comment on what you do not know about. You are out of your league when talking about Syria.
You say that there is no info about wissam, but a simple google search found the wiki link and it WORKS. How come it works now and it did not work when you searched for it? Did you really search for it. Here it is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wissam_Tarif
It tells you everything about Wissam. He has been interrogated 17 times by Syrian Mukhabart. Have you ever been interrogated by them, b? I have and it is not fun. You would probably shit your pants if you were ever interrogated by them.
Please stop posting on this issue. You are losing your credibility, FAST.
Posted by: ndahi | May 21, 2011 9:36:52 PM | 6
Ndahi claims to be syrian(?) and to be interrogated by the syria mukhabart…AND he says MOA is in danger of losing his credibility…when its ndahi who seems not to have had any to lose

Posted by: brian | Aug 24 2013 6:54 utc | 35

Posted by: ndahi | Aug 24, 2013 2:18:47 AM | 31
so who is ndahi?> anti hezbollah, pro-israel, and anti Assad?

Posted by: brian | Aug 24 2013 6:56 utc | 36

Could some Syrian expert out there kindly provide a synopsis of the Reliable evidence which indicate the extent of hesb involvement in Syrian conflict?
I keep hearing this but i have no idea of the extent these hesb fighters were involved.
Seems to me that all hesb may have done is some perimeter security. Watching the border regions when SAA were tangling with NATO mercs nearby. Blocking escape routes into Leb. Forcing some NATO mercs to blow the game a little by running to the Zio-Nazi’s border, to momma and papa, for escape, R&R etc

Posted by: hmm | Aug 24 2013 7:08 utc | 37

@ Fernando, we really do not know what will happen in Syria if Assad falls, but it is highly unlikely that there will be an Islamic Emarat. What is more likely is that all the various rebel factions will fight each other and further destroy the country. Something akin to that happened when the Soviet backed regime in Afghanistan collapsed. The Mujahideen lost their common enemy and they fought each other and further destroyed Afghanistan.
If the Syrian rebel factions kill each other in Syria, the Lebanese Christians will more than likely benefit from the outcome. Infact all of Lebanon would benefit since a weak Syria will have no energy or resources to meddle in Lebanon’s affairs.

Posted by: ndahi | Aug 24 2013 7:16 utc | 38

LoL at Brian. Just do a google search of Naji Dahi and you will find who I am. I am a professor of political science at Fullerton College in CA. If you want to find more just go to ratemyprofessor.com and read about my politics.

Posted by: ndahi | Aug 24 2013 7:20 utc | 39

@36
Probably same person as zina. Note 😉
I loved the “i just got back from Leb” – personally i never trust an “i just came from there” when they appear out of nowhere

Posted by: hmm | Aug 24 2013 7:22 utc | 40

It is beginning to look like this latest chemical weapons attack, even if it seems to many of us to be totally fabricated, is moving France, UK and the US towards becoming actively involved in the Syrian war. Hagel’s statement today is one bad sign. I think this is turning out to be very bad news for the Assad government. Once Nato enters the war the Syrian Army will probably quickly fold.
It makes absolutely no difference if the FSA launched the attack or if there was no attack in the first place. Once Nato goes in it will be over for Assad. We all know that Hussein’s wmds did not exist, but that did not save Sadam Hussein from his fate (or the nation of Iraq for that matter). This latest story against Assad seems to gaining steam and it is looking bad for him. Ndahi is obviously smelling blood and coming out to gloat.

Posted by: ToivoS | Aug 24 2013 8:17 utc | 41

Ndahi told Brian, “it is easy to pontificate from the safety of Europe/US about Lebanon”. And when she was in Lebanon, for two months, she found “people keep clamoring about how these bombings are the work of Israel or SA”. But now, back in the States, she follows the local media in blaming the Hezb.
So, far from arguing with anybody, she seems to be advising us not to place much credence in her pontificating. She just goes with the flow.

Posted by: Bob Jackson | Aug 24 2013 10:45 utc | 42

Bottom line is this: Assad will be toppled, as Saddam before him, just because Bibi wants it.

Posted by: gregg | Aug 24 2013 10:47 utc | 43

Bottom line is this: Assad will be toppled, as Saddam before him, just because Bibi wants it.
Posted by: gregg | Aug 24, 2013 6:47:30 AM | 42
then Bibi must have control of the jihadis…interesting

Posted by: brian | Aug 24 2013 11:00 utc | 44

If the Syrian rebel factions kill each other in Syria, the Lebanese Christians will more than likely benefit from the outcome. Infact all of Lebanon would benefit since a weak Syria will have no energy or resources to meddle in Lebanon’s affairs.
Posted by: ndahi | Aug 24, 2013 3:16:19 AM | 38
the nearest hes come yet to revealing his agenda for being here: to aid the cause of the islamists and israel: the latter wants a weak syria, the former an Assad free syria
if syria goes, so goes Lebanon

Posted by: brian | Aug 24 2013 11:02 utc | 45

Posted by: Bob Jackson | Aug 24, 2013 6:45:22 AM | 41
the locals know best

Posted by: brian | Aug 24 2013 11:03 utc | 46

Toivos
Take it easy.
US/France/UK would need a UN mandate to act on Syria that will never happen (hint, Russia, China). These states will not act without UN mandate.

Posted by: Anonymous | Aug 24 2013 11:04 utc | 47

@38
‘y. Something akin to that happened when the Soviet backed regime in Afghanistan collapsed. ;
afghanistan did not ‘collapse’.It was pushed by a wave of US backe mujahadeen: same as todays FSA are backed by USA

Posted by: brian | Aug 24 2013 11:04 utc | 48

‘DAVID BEN-GURION was quoted as saying during the inauguration of Dimona nuclear reactor in 1963, “It is not important to have a nuclear bomb or even 200 nuclear heads because they will not do us any good. It is better to neutralize Egypt, Syria and Iraq to guarantee our existence and power in the land of our ancestors’
http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/198010/reftab/73/t/From-the-Brotherhood-to-Ben-Gurion-with-regards/Default.aspx
iraq syria egypt

Posted by: brian | Aug 24 2013 11:14 utc | 49

@ToivoS | 40 “Once Nato goes in it will be over for Assad. We all know that Hussein’s wmds did not exist, but that did not save Sadam Hussein from his fate (or the nation of Iraq for that matter). This latest story against Assad seems to gaining steam and it is looking bad for him.”
Its oversimplification IMO. Syria’s army is weakened and stretched, BUT its still quite big, all sell-outs and traitors are gone. Army, NDF, etc. are battle hardened and more resolved than ever.
By bombing NATO wont win, that much is obvious. They have to send boots on the ground and their loses would be massive. None of the NATO members have stomach for that, not even psycho Erdogan. Israel’s MUCH superior army couldnt beat few thousands Hezbollah members, while in Syria NATO will face tens if not hundreds of thousands of dedicated soldiers with superior to Hezb equipment.
Plus NATO by actively entering war would also open war front with Iran and Russia. I dont think these will openly join the war, but they have enough means to make life of USrael and their puppets completely miserable in the region.
Bottom line: no, I dont think NATO will send its army, and in the worst case scenario all they could do is some bombing, which wont change much if anything on the ground.

Posted by: Harry | Aug 24 2013 11:30 utc | 50

I’m very much hoping Putin will give Obama a call and play the Afghan card. Something along the lines of “Nice little NATO army you’ve got their. It’d be shame if something happened to their supply lines.”
It might take Obama a few minutes to figure out what Putin means, exactly but he’ll figure it out. He’s been to Harvard, don’t ya know.

Posted by: Lysander | Aug 24 2013 11:42 utc | 51

The most pathetic thing is about this is that the rebels are sending samples from rabbits and dogs, yes rabbits and dogs, the same rabbits and dogs that they have tested chemical weapons for the past month on as they have themselves shown on youtube. One thought that if 1300 died there wouldnt be any problem taking a sample from a human.

Posted by: Anonymous | Aug 24 2013 12:26 utc | 52

Here is one video where rebels testing chemicals on rabbits. Disturbing pictures.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cjiTO32JOo

Posted by: Anonymous | Aug 24 2013 12:30 utc | 53

FYI recycling terrorists https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151559922141441&set=gm.10151533021961782&type=1&theater i think this is him at 1:15 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gY2RIjNrYU
crisis actor?

Posted by: brian | Aug 24 2013 13:26 utc | 54

Pro-military egyptians in the US let us know about their wild conspiracy theories and islamophobia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oph7xwUYKEg

Posted by: Anonymous | Aug 24 2013 14:30 utc | 55

@44 Brian
Not to mention that Syria originally intervened in Lebanon on the side of the Christians. The people in Lebanon who benefit from a destroyed Syria are the saudi backed March 14s.

Posted by: Crest | Aug 24 2013 15:21 utc | 56

It’s obviously no coincidence that groups like the FSA and certain (US trained) Mexican drug cartels share such similar M.O.s.
The use of torture and beheadings to intimidate opponents and locals, small groups in marked pickup trucks with roaming the countryside in convoys – all operating in exactly the same manner as the death squads set up by the US in Iraq by James Steele.
__________
As for ndahi, he/she is just another of the people pushing the Israeli line regarding Hezbollah. Israel’s first order of business is to revive the civil war in Lebanon so that they can attack a weakened Hezbollah.
All of these wars in the Middle East are the direct effect of the existence of the apartheid settler state. It is no different from the wars that surrounded South Africa during its apartheid era.
_______________
Russia, China, Iraq, Iran, and any other country that wants to see an end to the wars in the Middle East should do everything in their power to bring down the Saudi, Kuwaiti, and other Gulf dictatorships. Without them, support for the takfiris would dry up, leaving Israel and the US without their most important ally.

Posted by: guest77 | Aug 24 2013 16:31 utc | 57

Tripoli bombing suspects arrested
Lebanon Daily Star, Aug 24 2013
TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Police arrested two suspects Saturday linked to the twin car bombs in the northern city of Tripoli. Sheikh Ahmad Gharib, 40, was arrested by the police overnight in his residence in Minyeh, north of Tripoli. Arms, explosives and maps of the northern city were seized at his home, judicial sources said. The sources said that Gharib was an affiliate to the Syrian Ba’ath Party and had recently paid several visits to Syria. Another suspect in the bombing, Sheikh Abd’el-Razzak Hammoud, was arrested around noon, the sources said. The sources said that both sheikhs are members of the Tripoli-based Islamic Tawhid Movement, a pro-Syrian Shi’ite group headed by Hashem Minkara. The Salafi Muslim Scholars Committee held a meeting in Tripoli’s Sheikh Salem al-Rafei’s residence. Sheikh Rafei, a leading Salafi figure in Tripoli, usually heads the Friday prayers and preaches in the Taqwa Mosque. Rafei accused Syria of being behind the blasts.

Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Aug 25 2013 4:32 utc | 58

Mea culpa! Islamic Tawhid Movement is not a Shi’ite organisation, but it is pro-Syria: Wikipedia. That was my mistake: I put that in after some googling, thinking I was clarifying what this entity was, but I was wrong. Now more news:

Authorities to release one sheikh in Tripoli bomb investigation
Lebanon Daily Star, Aug 25 2013
BEIRUT: Authorities are expected to release one of two sheikhs apprehended for interrogation over Friday’s car bombs in the northern city. Police are expected to release Sheikh Abdel Razzak Hammoud, who was apprehended for questioning Saturday, while Sheikh Ahmad Gharib is to remain in custody for further interrogation, a judicial source told The Daily Star. According to the source, Gharib’s arrest was due to his appearance in surveillance video near al-Salam Mosque at the time of the explosion. The sheikh is not known to frequent the city and is not from Tripoli. Gharib is close to the Syrian intelligence agency and is considered a link between the agency and Hashem Minkara, head of the pro-Syrian Islamic group Tawheed Movement, which is based in Tripoli.

Posted by: Rowan Berkeley | Aug 25 2013 14:44 utc | 59

“The War in Syria is now spilling over into neighboring countries” is a neocon meme that has been adopted by most MSM (replacing the “nonviolent activists who were forced to pick up arms” meme because by now it’s obvious to most observers that there are few nonviolent activists left among the opposition). Neocons use the “now spilling over” meme to distract from the reality that many of Syria’s neighbors have stoked this conflict from early on by funneling arms, foreign mercenaries and homegrown young jihadists into Syria.
Lebanon, for example, was a source for weapons as early as January 2001. Gun shop owners in Lebanon reported an increase in sales to Syrians after the Arab Spring protests in Tahrir Square. While protests in Syria were mostly nonviolent and relatively small through February, they were hijacked by militants (possibly provocateurs) within a few months. Jihadists were involved in Syria from early in the conflict, not only AQI crossing from Iraq, but also mercenaries from the Libyan conflict passing through Lebanon. High-ranking right-wing Lebanese politicians, like Sa’ad Hariri’s right-hand man Okab Sakr, were deeply involved in coordinating the passage of weapons and fighters from Libya through Lebanon and Turkey (AlAkhbar broke the story, which Sakr initially denied until the evidence was overwhelming). March 14’s Hariri, who lives currently in Saudi Arabia, is closely allied with the Saudis in ideology and funding.
Further, Salafist imams in Lebanon were among those neighbors who called for Jihad in Syria. The Northern city of Tripoli was an early source of Syrian jihadists; but the Bekaa valley and Sidon have also been sending fighters to the Syrian insurgency. The route from Lebanon through Qusair was a major traffic route for insurgents and arms into Homs. Even when Lebanon clarified a position of non-interference in Syria, and the Lebanese Army set up road blocks into Syria, Lebanese Salafist fighters passed easily through the countryside around Qusair into Syria (that is, when they weren’t killing the Lebanese soldiers at the roadblocks and passing through anyway).
Early in the conflict, Hezbollah’s presence in Syria was limited mostly to protecting a shrine outside Damascus and training the leaders of Popular Committees in Shia Syrian border villages in how to protect their towns from being taken over by insurgents. Hezbollah increased its presence in Syria significantly when the SAA moved to take over Qusair. Apparently, Hezbollah has been much more effective than the Lebanese Army in preventing Lebanese Salafists from crossing the Syrian border by road or countryside. Salafists in Tripoli took out their frustrations by bombing Alawite neighborhoods closer to home.
The violence that Syria’s neighbors stoked is coming home to rest.

Posted by: Rusty Pipes | Aug 28 2013 8:23 utc | 60

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